SOUTH WAYNE - The Black Hawk girls basketball team entered the season ranked No. 1 in the preseason Division 5 state rankings.
The Warriors have a team full of athletic players who can handle the ball, but it was Black Hawk's ball-hawking halfcourt defense that suffocated Parkview and paved the way for a 74-24 win in the season opener Monday.
Black Hawk sophomore Natalie Leuzinger scored a game-high 18 points and had four steals. Freshman teammate Bailey Butler added 16 points and had six steals. Senior Hannah Herbst chipped in 10 points and had a team-high seven steals to go along with four rebounds and four assists.
Parkview (0-3) had more turnovers (30) than points (24).
"In practice, our main goal is always defense," Herbst said. "We take pride in our defense. We have some season goals. We don't want teams to score more than 30 points in a game. It's really a pride thing."
Herbst was eager to tip off the season after the Warriors lost to Fall River in a regional championship game last year.
"It feels great coming out of the gates with this team," Herbst said. "We know we are coming in ranked. We wanted to come out and make a statement. We wanted to show we have been working hard for this."
The Warriors made a statement right from the opening tip with a 31-5 run. Herbst had a steal that led to senior Briana Hagen's layup and Leuzinger later scored on a layup to give Black Hawk an 8-0 lead. Butler drilled a 3-pointert to give the Warriors a 13-3 lead with 15:04 left in the first half. Leuzinger knocked down two 3-pointers during the surge to give the Warriors an insurmountable 31-5 lead with 9:20 left in the first half.
"We all know that we are ranked No. 1 in the state," Leuzinger said. "That really doesn't mean anything. Nothing is given to us. We still have to come out and work hard."
Leuzinger was proud of her teammates for their performance in the opener.
"I think it was a good game to start out with," said Leuzinger, who was named to the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches All-State team last year. "We obviously had a couple of mistakes that we have to work on. Overall, I thought this was a good start to the season."
Black Hawk closed the first half with a flurry. Freshman Kaylee Marty had a steal and layup to ignite the run. Leuzinger scored on a layup followed by sophomore Maddy Huschitt hitting a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 36-point lead. Herbst then scored on a layup make it 47-9 at the half. The Vikings had double turnovers (20) than points (9) in the first half. The Warriors used man, halfcourt trapping defenses at times in the opener.
"A lot of it was not off the press," Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan said. "We have some different ways to defend in the halfcourt and we can change up defenses. It's always nice to have the other team take a timeout because of one of your schemes to make adjustments and then we switch it up on them. I know we will be able to defend teams in a lot of different ways."
The Warriors picked up where they left off in the second half. Butler drilled a 3-pointer early in the second half that made it 50-11 out of the gate.
Black Hawk had 10 different plays score. The closest the Vikings got in the second half was 32 points after senior Amber Hudson hit a 3-pointer to slice the Warriors' lead to 50-18 with 15:22 left.
"We are not looking to outlet to a certain player," Flanagan said. "We have the luxury that we have multiple kids who can handle the ball and push the ball. We are just looking to outlet (pass) and push the ball up the court. We are just blessed with multiple players who can handle the ball. We can play positionless basketball. It's a lot more difficult to defend."
Parkview junior Kristine Mumm had a team-high eight points and sophomore Taylor Burrell had seven rebounds.
"We are not the biggest or strongest team," Leuzinger said. "We lost a couple of our post defenders from last year. We have a couple of freshman who are physical and quick. We are ready to fight and play physical down there."
Keeping a team like Black Hawk hungry, which may overpower many of its opponents could be a challenge.
"That is where practice comes in," Flanagan said. "We've been competing hard to improve."
Black Hawk has looked to strengthen its schedule this season. The Warriors will play at Cuba City Dec. 2, and two weeks later against Springville, Iowa, the two-time 1A state champions, at Loras College Dec. 16. Then Black Hawk will host Division 4 sectional qualifier Darlington Dec. 21 and as well as Platteville Feb. 6.
"I like the fact that our challenging games are nicely spaced," he said. "Those are games we know we will be challenged. If you talk about barometer games, those are the ones. We can start to find out how we compare."
The Warriors have a team full of athletic players who can handle the ball, but it was Black Hawk's ball-hawking halfcourt defense that suffocated Parkview and paved the way for a 74-24 win in the season opener Monday.
Black Hawk sophomore Natalie Leuzinger scored a game-high 18 points and had four steals. Freshman teammate Bailey Butler added 16 points and had six steals. Senior Hannah Herbst chipped in 10 points and had a team-high seven steals to go along with four rebounds and four assists.
Parkview (0-3) had more turnovers (30) than points (24).
"In practice, our main goal is always defense," Herbst said. "We take pride in our defense. We have some season goals. We don't want teams to score more than 30 points in a game. It's really a pride thing."
Herbst was eager to tip off the season after the Warriors lost to Fall River in a regional championship game last year.
"It feels great coming out of the gates with this team," Herbst said. "We know we are coming in ranked. We wanted to come out and make a statement. We wanted to show we have been working hard for this."
The Warriors made a statement right from the opening tip with a 31-5 run. Herbst had a steal that led to senior Briana Hagen's layup and Leuzinger later scored on a layup to give Black Hawk an 8-0 lead. Butler drilled a 3-pointert to give the Warriors a 13-3 lead with 15:04 left in the first half. Leuzinger knocked down two 3-pointers during the surge to give the Warriors an insurmountable 31-5 lead with 9:20 left in the first half.
"We all know that we are ranked No. 1 in the state," Leuzinger said. "That really doesn't mean anything. Nothing is given to us. We still have to come out and work hard."
Leuzinger was proud of her teammates for their performance in the opener.
"I think it was a good game to start out with," said Leuzinger, who was named to the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches All-State team last year. "We obviously had a couple of mistakes that we have to work on. Overall, I thought this was a good start to the season."
Black Hawk closed the first half with a flurry. Freshman Kaylee Marty had a steal and layup to ignite the run. Leuzinger scored on a layup followed by sophomore Maddy Huschitt hitting a 3-pointer to give the Warriors a 36-point lead. Herbst then scored on a layup make it 47-9 at the half. The Vikings had double turnovers (20) than points (9) in the first half. The Warriors used man, halfcourt trapping defenses at times in the opener.
"A lot of it was not off the press," Black Hawk coach Mike Flanagan said. "We have some different ways to defend in the halfcourt and we can change up defenses. It's always nice to have the other team take a timeout because of one of your schemes to make adjustments and then we switch it up on them. I know we will be able to defend teams in a lot of different ways."
The Warriors picked up where they left off in the second half. Butler drilled a 3-pointer early in the second half that made it 50-11 out of the gate.
Black Hawk had 10 different plays score. The closest the Vikings got in the second half was 32 points after senior Amber Hudson hit a 3-pointer to slice the Warriors' lead to 50-18 with 15:22 left.
"We are not looking to outlet to a certain player," Flanagan said. "We have the luxury that we have multiple kids who can handle the ball and push the ball. We are just looking to outlet (pass) and push the ball up the court. We are just blessed with multiple players who can handle the ball. We can play positionless basketball. It's a lot more difficult to defend."
Parkview junior Kristine Mumm had a team-high eight points and sophomore Taylor Burrell had seven rebounds.
"We are not the biggest or strongest team," Leuzinger said. "We lost a couple of our post defenders from last year. We have a couple of freshman who are physical and quick. We are ready to fight and play physical down there."
Keeping a team like Black Hawk hungry, which may overpower many of its opponents could be a challenge.
"That is where practice comes in," Flanagan said. "We've been competing hard to improve."
Black Hawk has looked to strengthen its schedule this season. The Warriors will play at Cuba City Dec. 2, and two weeks later against Springville, Iowa, the two-time 1A state champions, at Loras College Dec. 16. Then Black Hawk will host Division 4 sectional qualifier Darlington Dec. 21 and as well as Platteville Feb. 6.
"I like the fact that our challenging games are nicely spaced," he said. "Those are games we know we will be challenged. If you talk about barometer games, those are the ones. We can start to find out how we compare."
